During my experiences in the field of English, I thought a lot about different situations and how a teacher should exemplify strong ethics even though it may now always be easy. I noticed that it is crucial to nurture learning, respect all students, use the English language arts to help students become familiar with their own and others' culture, and promote the arts and humanities in the daily lives of students. During my time spent at Rocky Point High School, I noticed the strong attitudes of the English teachers.
During one class period, a student was asked to read a part in Romeo and Juliet. She stumbled on words and was obviously quite uncomfortable with her mistakes. Suddenly, she became fed up and proclaimed "I'm stupid, I can't read this." Mr. Molloy illustrated his nurturing side and said "No, you are not stupid, don't ever say that." It seemed like the girl felt a little better and continued to finish the passage. I heard a lot of students make that statement while reading Shakespeare. This was most likely their first experience with the language of Shakespeare and they were frustrated. The truth is that it takes plenty of time to acquaint a reader with a "new" style of language. Teachers cannot allow students to give up so easily and must make it known that with time they will all be Shakespearean scholars in their own way.
Respect is also a crucial element to respect all students. It was evident that not every student respected their teachers and reasons were mainly because they were boring and not understanding. I think that it is crucial to respect your students in every way and be compassionate to them. If there is a problem, you cannot always verbally attack them for there might just be a good explanation and if the teacher is understanding, the student will respect the teacher more. I was in a classroom when a cell phone went off. The teacher immediately assumed it was a particular student, but it wasn't. He insisted it was her telephone and took her purse away. She was extremely angered at this and had many choice words to say. Perhaps the teacher should not have embarassed the student in this manner and considered the fact that it may have been another student's phone. I noticed that many teachers who were respectful of students and spoke to them at their level before flying off the handle gained more respect in return. Some students even apologized to such teachers.
In today's society there are so many different cultures, languages, religions and ideals that it is difficult to understand them all and even know of each one in depth. However, through Literature we can read about other cultures and learn tolerance which I feel is the most important lesson that can be taught with regards to our multi-cultural society. We need to involve students by making them feel proud of who they are and where they come from. For example, during one lesson on The House on Mango Street, a teacher asked a Hispanic speaking student to read the Spanish parts and explain them. This had a positive effect on the student who was able to express herself using her native tongue. It also made her feel good about her language abilities.
"I hate to read" is heard commonly throughout many schools. It is my hopes that English teachers can change this thought. Students must be given creative lessons in order to teach them how crucial words are and how much we learn about the world each day by simply reading. I think one way to do so is to plan exciting and innovative lessons to allow students ownership of texts. I once observed a teacher who wanted students to read from a scene in Caesar while looking up to read as a public speaker would. Everyone wanted to try it. Some students felt it was difficult at first but after some practice, it was not so challenging anymore. They were able to laugh at themselves when they made mistakes and feel good when they didn't.
My field experience time has taught me many techniques for instilling proper ethics and attitudes in the classroom. By observing other teachers and considering how I might react in a similar situation, I felt I was preparing myself better for the future. I also feel that many of my instincts were helpful to consider. If a person has a positive attitude and good ethics, the result will be silently displayed through the way students respond to that teacher.
